ragingbull1965 As anyone who was raised by immigrant parents can attest to, this film illustrates the struggles of a second-generation Indo-Briton (Jess) to integrate into the host country and her parents' struggles to raise their children in the traditions of their own culture. I can relate to this because I am a second-generation American born to immigrant parents and I remember very well wanting to fit in with my classmates but having to endure the resistance of my parents who kept reminding me that "we are different". This film did an excellent job presenting these cultural differences in the simplest yet most poignant way; with the use of football. Since football is not as popular in India as it is in Britain and in most of the world, it represented one cultural difference. Also, girls playing sports in India is also not encouraged so to have an Indian girl wanting to play a non-traditional Indian sport represented two simultaneous cultural differences. Finally, in many Asian cultures, children are expected to always obey their parents even if that means sacrificing their own ambitions so as not to disappoint their parents. So Jess is forced to make a choice; play football against her parents' wishes or do what her parents want her to do even if this means giving up football. These are just some of the reasons why many immigrants find it hard to assimilate into the dominant culture of the host country. And the consequences are not always amusing.

Syl The film is about girls playing football (soccer in America). Jess is a Britidh Sikh teenager living in the London suburbs with her engaged sister and parents. When Jules discovers Jess, she invites her to play for the Hounslow Harriers and she does until her sister's wedding interferes with a tournament. Jess and Jules couldn't be anymore different. Jules is a white Briton who has a concerned mother played by Juliet Stevenson CBE. The film is about friendship and sportsmanship and family. It is a great family film and entertaining overall. The director is a woman and inspired to make this film herself. The film showcases Keira Knightley's acting abilities too. Her costar Parminder (Jess) is Magnificent.

Jak Jhonsen Bend it like Beckham was released 2002 and is a comedy, drama and romance movie about a teenage Indian girl rebelling against her parents. The movie was directed Gurinder Chadha ho I also known for 'Paris, je t'aime', 'Bride and Prejudice' and 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'.Bend it like Beckham is about reaching your goals even if it means you need to bend the rules. The movie is based around Jesminder Bhamra for short she's called Jess. She's the daughter of a highly traditional family from India who do not understand her desire of playing football. For them learning to make food and getting a husband are more important then football. If the movie sounds cliché, it's probably because it is rather cliché. You could probably guess the ending of the movie accurate with what I've told you. The movie doesn't tell you much you did not know about Indian culture, and even worse it touches on homophobic attitude of religious cultures for 3 minutes and drops it for the rest of the movie. Why would you have a gay character if you were never going to anything with it? The movie also attempts to show racism but that's also barely touched on. The movie is obviously just a football movie with a lot of tacked on content to cover the lack of depth. Tacked on content isn't bad it's just when it's done half-way and about such important topics. The movies saving grace are the actors who do their best to give life to the two dimensional characters. It's rather hard to find one bad actor in the movie, but by no means is the writing their working with any good. The movie is overall predictable, cliché and a bundle of half-done side content. There is not real reason for anyone to watch the movie at all it adds nothing new ore fresh to the world. The movie feels from beginning to end like a shore and that's when a movie truly fails. Even children I can see getting bored by the movie, I can't recommend the movie to anyone at all open hearted. The movie over all gets three out of six. It's not bad it's just so cliché and so meaning less that there is no reason to kill time watching the movie.

SnoopyStyle Jess (Parminder Nagra) comes from a conservative Sikh family. Her mother worries about her daughters and maintaining a good family facade. Her sister is getting married, but her mind is on football. Jules (Keira Knightley) plays on a girls team, and recruits Jess after watching her in the park. Jess starts playing despite her family's misgiving.This is Keira Knightley's big break out indie hit. It's the start of her wider fame. But it's Parminder as Jess and her family that is more fascinating. The family traditions and pressures are at the heart of this movie. The one false note in the movie is the girlie drama with Jules getting jealous of Jess and couch Joe. It reeks of lesser teen fare. But the movie gets over it quickly and moves on. It gets back on firmer ground of family drama. This is a heart warming little film.